Latest news with #Pennon
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
South West Water owner's losses rise by £63million after Brixham parasite outbreak
Pennon saw losses widen last year as restructuring costs and the impact of the Brixham parasite outbreak weighed on the South West Water owner. The group, whose customers saw bills surge by an average of 28 per cent in April, posted a pre-tax loss of £72.7million for the year 31 March, up from a £9.1million loss the prior year. The parasite outbreak in Brixham, south Devon, which left some people hospitalised, cost Pennon about £21million, as around 800 staff and supply chain partners were dispatched for an eight-week effort to return safe clean drinking water to the area. Pennon also faced £15.8million in costs related to restructuring actions over the year. Plans to ramp up investment in infrastructure, and encourage customers to use less water to save money, also hit profitability, according to the group. Pennon is targeting £3.2billion of investment by 2030, incorporating work to build new reservoirs, fix storm overflows, meet its net zero commitments, and improve services for customers. Bills for South West Water customers surged by 28 per cent on average from April, while bills for Bristol Water and Sutton and East Surrey (SES) customers are rising by 5 and 3 per cent respectively. Pennon, which expects to return to profitability in the year ahead, said the bill hikes would help fund around a third of its investments. Susan Davy, Pennon's chief executive, added: 'We know customers are worried about rising bills to fund this level of investment. 'While we have made the tough decision to put bills up in 2025-26 - for the first time in over a decade - two-thirds of our investments are being funded by our supportive investors and debt providers. 'Ultimately everyone will benefit from the investments we are making - from building reservoirs, to fixing storm overflows, powering our net zero ambitions and helping to create economic growth.'
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
South West Water owner Pennon says losses deepened after Devon parasite outbreak
South West Water owner Pennon has reported widening losses following a parasite outbreak in Devon, while it said hiking water bills this year would help fund its £3.2 billion investment plans. The utilities firm reported a pre-tax loss of £72.7 million for the year to the end of March, widening from the £9.1 million loss reported last year. Last year's incident in Brixham, south Devon, cost it about £21 million, pushing it deeper into an annual loss, it said. An outbreak of cryptosporidium – a parasite that causes infection – in the water supply left some people in hospital, while more than 100 others reported symptoms including diarrhoea. Pennon said about 800 of its staff and supply chain partners spent eight weeks over the summer working to return safe clean drinking water for people and businesses in the area. The wider annual loss also reflects £15.8 million in costs related to restructuring actions over the year, it revealed. Meanwhile, Pennon said plans to ramp up investment in its infrastructure, and encouraging its customers to use less water to save money, had affected its profitability. The group is targeting £3.2 billion worth of investment by 2030, incorporating work to build new reservoirs, fix storm overflows, meet its net zero commitments, and improve services for customers. Bills for South West Water customers surged by 28% on average from April, while bills for Bristol Water and Sutton and East Surrey (SES) customers are rising by 5% and 3% respectively. Pennon said the bill hikes would help fund around a third of its investments. Susan Davy, Pennon's chief executive, said: 'We know customers are worried about rising bills to fund this level of investment. 'While we have made the tough decision to put bills up in 2025/26 – for the first time in over a decade – two-thirds of our investments are being funded by our supportive investors and debt providers. 'Ultimately everyone will benefit from the investments we are making – from building reservoirs, to fixing storm overflows, powering our net zero ambitions and helping to create economic growth.' She added that, despite persistent dry weather, 'we're predicting that the South West won't need a hosepipe ban this summer'. It is also expecting to return to profitability in the year ahead through increased revenues and shaking up business costs.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
South West Water owner Pennon says losses deepened after Devon parasite outbreak
South West Water owner Pennon has reported widening losses following a parasite outbreak in Devon, while it said hiking water bills this year would help fund its £3.2 billion investment plans. The utilities firm reported a pre-tax loss of £72.7 million for the year to the end of March, widening from the £9.1 million loss reported last year. Last year's incident in Brixham, south Devon, cost it about £21 million, pushing it deeper into an annual loss, it said. An outbreak of cryptosporidium – a parasite that causes infection – in the water supply left some people in hospital, while more than 100 others reported symptoms including diarrhoea. Pennon said about 800 of its staff and supply chain partners spent eight weeks over the summer working to return safe clean drinking water for people and businesses in the area. The wider annual loss also reflects £15.8 million in costs related to restructuring actions over the year, it revealed. Meanwhile, Pennon said plans to ramp up investment in its infrastructure, and encouraging its customers to use less water to save money, had affected its profitability. The group is targeting £3.2 billion worth of investment by 2030, incorporating work to build new reservoirs, fix storm overflows, meet its net zero commitments, and improve services for customers. Bills for South West Water customers surged by 28% on average from April, while bills for Bristol Water and Sutton and East Surrey (SES) customers are rising by 5% and 3% respectively. Pennon said the bill hikes would help fund around a third of its investments. Susan Davy, Pennon's chief executive, said: 'We know customers are worried about rising bills to fund this level of investment. 'While we have made the tough decision to put bills up in 2025/26 – for the first time in over a decade – two-thirds of our investments are being funded by our supportive investors and debt providers. 'Ultimately everyone will benefit from the investments we are making – from building reservoirs, to fixing storm overflows, powering our net zero ambitions and helping to create economic growth.' She added that, despite persistent dry weather, 'we're predicting that the South West won't need a hosepipe ban this summer'. It is also expecting to return to profitability in the year ahead through increased revenues and shaking up business costs. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Independent
31-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Pennon costs surge to £36m after South West Water parasite outbreak in Devon
South West Water owner Pennon has said the final bill for last year's parasite outbreak in Devon that impacted thousands of households has contributed to a cost hit of nearly £40 million. The supplier – which also owns Bristol Water, Bournemouth Water and SES Water – said it was facing costs of around £36 million for the supply contamination incident in Brixham and its 'reshaping and transformation programmes'. This is up from around £20 million in costs in the first half of its year, when it revealed more than £16 million was paid out for the Brixham issue after compensating affected customers, together with a further £4 million for its overhaul programme. Despite the rising financial toll, the London-listed group said on Monday that its underlying earnings would be 'broadly flat' compared with the first half and that it was on track with its own expectations for the full year to March 31. Shares in the group fell 2% in Monday morning trading. The outbreak in May last year left some people in hospital and hundreds of others ill after contamination of the water supply by cryptosporidium, a parasite which causes sickness and diarrhoea. About 17,000 households and businesses in the Brixham area were issued with a 'boil water' notice as scores of reported cases emerged. The notice, instructing them not to use tap water for drinking without boiling and cooling it first, remained in place for eight weeks for some households. In a Commons committee session last month, Pennon chief executive Susan Davy apologised to customers over pollution incidents, including the 'devastating' Devon case, while also revealing her salary has risen this year. Ms Davy has faced criticism after it was revealed that her pay package jumped 58% to £860,000 a month following the incident, after she picked up a long-term share award. She also told the MPs in the committee session that her base salary is rising from £494,000 to £511,000 this year. South West Water customers will see their bills increase by 23% over the coming five years, helping the company pay for improvements to its infrastructure and reduce pollution incidents. The costs of the parasitic water outbreak saw Pennon report widened bottom line pre-tax losses of £38.8 million in the six months to September, against losses of £34 million a year earlier. The company spent about £4 million on restructuring the business in the first half alone, having also bought Sutton and East Surrey (SES) Water for £350 million. It is looking to cut costs across SES, which was also loss-making in the first half.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Journalists vote to unionize at Harrisburg-based WITF public radio and Lancaster's LNP newspaper
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Journalists in the joint newsroom that serves WITF-89.5 FM, a public radio station based near Harrisburg, and LNP, a Lancaster-based newspaper, voted Monday to form a union. The vote was 39 in favor and 10 against, said Bill Ross, executive director of NewsGuild Philadelphia. Four ballots were challenged, but because of the margin of victory, the results of those challenges won't impact the outcome. 'I feel really great for the employees. They put a ton of work in, and our members came out,' said Bill Ross, executive director of NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia, which will represent the newsroom's 57 journalists. 'We're here to help this company improve and become profitable and make sure our members have the protections they want and demand in a union contract.' 'We respect this decision and recognize the significance of this moment for our organization,' Ron Hetrick, president of the merged WITF and LNP — now known as Pennon — wrote to employees in an email message Monday night. 'Throughout this process, our priority has remained the same — to support our employees and ensure the strength of the journalism that serves our communities. While this marks a new chapter in our workplace, our shared mission remains unchanged: ensuring our communities continue to have access to the news and information they rely on across our various platforms.' Pennon had laid off about 10 percent of its staff in October 2024. The guild presented its petition to unionize to the National Labor Relations Board on Dec. 23, Ross said. In recent years, journalists at a few other public radio stations — including Charlotte's WFAE and Boston's WBUR — have voted to join unions, as did journalists at the Charlotte Observer newspaper. People familiar with the resulting union contracts have characterized those deals as including modest gains, offset partly by the cost of union dues. Other unionized newsroom employees have fared more poorly. At the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a strike that began in October 2022 continues; the union and company never agreed on a contract, the newspaper continues publishing with non-union replacement workers and some of the striking workers have taken jobs outside the news industry. Throughout the industry, newsroom employees have complained of pay that hasn't kept up with inflation, shrinking staff, and increased workloads. Companies have complained of financial challenges so severe that some newsrooms have closed despite the concessions imposed on employees. LNP traces its roots to the 1794 launch of the Lancaster Journal, according to its website. WITF-TV went on the air in 1964, followed by WITF-FM in 1971. In January, Spotlight PA journalists ratified their first contract after voting in 2024 to unionize. 'Management there embraced the employees and gave them a wonderful first contract — fairly bargained, worked together collectively,' Ross said 'That's our plan to work with Pennon and their leaders.' Hetrick committed in his message 'to engaging in constructive discussions that reflect both the needs of our employees and the long-term sustainability of our organization.' LNP and SpotlightPA are abc27 media partners. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
